UHURU KENYATTA: A simple choice for Kenya on August 8

Those familiar with their Bible know well the story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt to Canaan. Some leaders, faced with the rigours of the journey to the Promised Land, reversed their attitude and attempted to convince the people that slavery in Egypt was better – that they should return to poverty, servitude, and subjection.

My opponent presents himself as one who will bring the Kenyan people to the Promised Land.Actually, he is far more akin to the grumblers in the desert, who preferred to live in the past.

For all the biblical platitudes he proclaims, my opponent’s words and deeds show that he has chosen a different path; they show that he has chosen to return to a darker Kenya where corruption, violence, and tribalism were common practice, and where poverty stifled the talents of our people. Kenyans have no business following him.

We, since the people of Kenya chose us in 2013, have focused on one and only one trajectory: forward.

In the last four years, Kenya has seen unprecedented transformation, growth, and the deepening of our democracy.

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Kenya is fast becoming the envy not just of the region, but the continent and beyond. As we have fashioned a ‘Silicon Savannah’, the world has shown its confidence in Kenya’s ability to rise above our history. The evidence is clear:since 2013, foreign investment has risen from $300 million to $1.9 billion. Raila Odinga, when he was prime minister, did nowhere near as well.

We have brought devolution to the four corners of Kenya, and my administration has gone above and beyond the constitutional requirement by increasing the proportion of shareable revenues allocated to the counties from 15% to 34%. These funds have paid for an unprecedented burst of development right across the country: new roads and schools, have spring up. Just as important is the sense of control that communities across the Republic now have: they can set their own development priorities as they see fit.

When we took office, we were charged with a historic task: it was our duty to implement the new constitution that Kenyans bestowed on themselves in 2010. This commitment, and our success in establishing the constitution, has put Kenya on a solid legal foundation – the key to sustainable development.

We have united and connected Kenya by massive investment in transport, including thousands of kilometers of roads and the SGR; in electricity; in clean water; in Internet access; and in education and health.

Almost a million Kenyan schoolchildren have received tablets or laptops, and far more of our sons and daughters now have a chance to study at university.Never before have so many Kenyans had access to the tools they need for progress and success. These were some of our promises. We have kept them.

My opponent, in his zeal to unseat me, has not only castigated these achievements, he has openly declared that he will halt or reverse many of them.

He has threatened to tear apart the constitution the better to create jobs for his cronies. He has threatened to stop the SGR’s next phase, which will see the Madaraka Express travel from Nairobi to Naivasha. He has said that he will remove hundreds of thousands of laptops and tablets from our children’s hands.

These are not the actions of one who would lead a people to the Promised Land; these are the declarations of someone who will take us back to an Egypt in which Pharaoh still reigns.

He has daily shown us glimpses of a return to the days of old, as he pits county against county, tribe against tribe, and Kenyan against Kenyan. His ODM cohorts threaten to burn the country if they are not declared election winners, and he is backed by some of the most corrupt figures in Kenya and abroad.

Indeed, one has only to visit Kibra to understand what Raila Odinga means for Kenya. In the 20 years during which he sat as MP for the Nairobi neighbourhood, he did little to improve the lives of its residents.In contrast, the Jubilee government has provided the people of Kibra with tarmacked roads, mobile clinics, police posts, working streetlights, clean toilets and free Wi-Fi.

The truth is that on Tuesday morning, we have a choice between two visions of Kenya. We can choose development, and progress; we can grow into prosperous and peaceful nation, at peace with ourselves in all our diversity. Or we can choose a reversion to the old politics we thought were behind us: the politics of hatred, division, and poverty. The choice is clear: Raila’s Kibra or Uhuru’s Silicon Savannah.

The choice is simple. On August 8th, choose progress. Together, let us continue to drive Kenya firmly on the path of peace and prosperity; let us remain a nation where every citizen can look forward to a better and brighter future.